Press Releases

THE PEOPLE'S PLEDGE: Shea-Porter to Guinta and Innis: Match Scott Brown's Standard and Take The People's Pledge

MANCHESTER, NH – Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) has challenged Republican candidates Frank Guinta and Dan Innis to live up to the standard once set by Scott Brown in Massachusetts and agree to keep third-party spending out of New Hampshire.

In a letter sent to former Congressman Guinta and Mr. Innis, Shea-Porter urges them to join with her to limit third-party spending in New Hampshire, returning politics to the place it belongs -- in the hands of New Hampshire citizens.

“New Hampshire has always been fertile soil for democracy, but third-party groups are threatening to drown out the voices of average citizens as they flood our airwaves with millions of dollars in negative advertising,” Shea-Porter wrote to Guinta and Innis. “I’m asking you to live up to Scott Brown’s standard, even if he abandoned it, and sign the People’s Pledge to keep third-party spending out of New Hampshire.”

In 2012, Shea-Porter called on Frank Guinta to denounce SuperPAC ads, but he refused. In the 2014 election cycle, third-party groups have already spent more than $1.8 million on negative advertising in New Hampshire, and they’ve pledged to spend more. Despite calls from Public Citizen and Common Cause, Scott Brown has so far refused to sign the People’s Pledge.

Shea-Porter has always practiced campaign finance reform. She does not accept money from Corporate PACs or DC lobbyists. In January, she joined NH Rebellion for the Manchester to Bedford part of the group’s walk across New Hampshire for campaign finance reform. The march was inspired by New Hampshire’s Doris Haddock (“Granny D”), who famously walked across the country in 1999 with a simple sign on her chest: “Campaign Finance Reform.”

Below is a copy of the letter sent to both Mr. Guinta and Mr. Innis who have a primary on September 9th to determine who will be the Republican Party’s candidate in November.

New Hampshire has always been fertile soil for democracy, but third-party groups are threatening to drown out the voices of average citizens as they flood our airwaves with millions of dollars in negative advertising. I’m asking you to live up to Scott Brown’s standard, even if he abandoned it, and sign the People’s Pledge to keep third-party spending out of New Hampshire.

Third-party groups have already spent more than $1.8 million on negative advertising in New Hampshire this cycle, and they’ve pledged to spend more. We know that New Hampshire voters hate these ads, and by working together, we can dramatically reduce them. The time to act is now.

Sign the agreement with me by next week and we will:

· Immediately send out a joint press release that third-party money is not welcome in NH-01

· Jointly hold a press conference to denounce any third-party that use the airwaves or any form of media ads to attack or support any of us

· Jointly sign a public statement to the offending third-party that it stop running the ads immediately

New Hampshire politics is about knocking on doors, shaking hands, and visiting countless communities. It’s not about who can buy an election by spending millions of dollars on negative ads.

Together, we can return politics to the place it belongs, in the hands of New Hampshire citizens. I hope you’ll join me in doing what’s right for our state and our democracy.